Quarble
'Quarble '''is a character in The Messenger. He is a greed demon who follows around Ninja. Quarble serves as a tool to handle player deaths: when the player dies, Quarble restores them to their previous checkpoint. Quarble then follows the player around for a short period of time, stealing their newly-collected Time Shards . Profile Appearance Quarble is a tiny flying red demon. He has curly beige ram horns at the top of his head, short arms with beige magic rings, short legs, a cyclops eye in the center of his face, and two small wings on his back. Personality Quarble is very sarcastic and insults Ninja quite often. He enjoys making jokes at Ninja's expense. Main Story Whenever Ninja dies, time freezes in place. Quarble appears, and he uses his magic rings to teleport Ninja away in a flash of blue light. Quarble uses a pencil to scribble some notes onto a notepad then puts both away. Ninja is restored to be at his last checkpoint, and Quarble follows Ninja around for a bit, stealing any new Time Shards Ninja happens to collect. The first time that Ninja dies, Quarble remarks that he has a new customer. Ninja appears back at his last checkpoint, standing next to a flying Quarble. Ninja, who is completely confused, wonders why he didn't die. Quarble confirms that Ninja basically did die. Ninja is still confused, so Quarble goes on to introduce himself and his purpose. Quarble explains that he has a magic ring that allows him to control space and time. Whenever Ninja is about to die, Quarble will stop time and teleport Ninja back to his last checkpoint. Ninja asks what the catch is, so Quarble explains that Ninja will feel the agonizing pain of death each time, and along with that, Quarble will use his notepad to keep track of Ninja's debt, stealing Ninja's loot until he and Ninja are even or until Quarble gets bored. Ninja does not respond, as if he's not pleased by Quarble's explanation. Quarble suggests he could just let Ninja die, and again, Ninja does not respond. Quarble takes Ninja's silence as a vote of agreement for their partnership and tells Ninja to carry on with his journey. During Ninja's adventure, Ninja eventually reaches Quillshroom Marsh and fights the Queen of Quills. Ninja deals the final blow to the Queen of Quills, which prompts Quillble to freeze time and save the Queen. If Ninja has never died up to this point, then Quarble does not appear. If Ninja has died at least once, then Quarble does appear. Quarble questions Quillble, asking who she is. Quillble introduces herself as Quillble. Quarble says that her name makes no sense and asks why he's never seen her around before. Quillble responds that she was exiled a long time ago when she was cursed along with her Messenger. Quarble pauses and seems to recognize Quillble's voice, but before he can finish his thought, Quillble taunts Quarble and teleports away. Quarble also takes his leave and teleports away. Whether or not Quarble was actually present for the cutscene, time unfreezes, leaving behind a completely confused Ninja. In New Game +, Quarble is seen in the beginning of Ninja Village, writing down notes on his notepad. Ninja can speak to Quarble, where Quarble will explain information about the current New Game + cycle. Quarble behaves differently; instead of automatically reviving Ninja and following Ninja around, Quarble requires an upfront payment of Time Shards in order to revive Ninja. The amount of required Time Shards increases with each increment of New Game +. If Ninja doesn't have enough money upon death, Quarble does not revive Ninja, and the player receives a Game Over. Gameplay New Game * Quarble sticks around for 60 seconds before he leaves. * If you own the "Devil's due" shop upgrade, he sticks around for 30 seconds before he leaves. * Every 1 Time Shard removes 0.5 seconds. Every 2 Time Shards removes 1 second. * If Ninja is about to fight a boss, Quarble will get scared and immediately leave. New Game + * Quarble takes upfront payment and doesn't follow you. The amount scales with each cycle, as depicted in this chart. Death Quotes After Ninja dies and is teleported away by Quarble, a black screen appears, where Quarble makes a comment. The comment can reflect specific death types (projectile, spikes, etc.) or if Ninja has died many times in a row. Some of these comments reveal more information about Quarble's life and greed demon society. First Death * Oh, a new customer! Generic * If all else fails, you could try jumping. * I've saved your life deathcount times already. * Thanks to you I've accumulated timeshardstolencount Time Shards so far. * You know, I wasn't sure about this either, but they said I was better than the outdated "lives and continues" system. * Zigged when you should have zagged? * I totally called that one! Quarble just won another bet. * Or you could have watched your step. * deathcount deaths prevented. Quarble MVP! * Admit it, you did that just because you wanted to see me! * The first paycheck always feels good, but at this point I mostly see the work. * Living outside of time, I tend to lose track. Have we met before from your perspective? * A whopping timeshardstolencount Time Shards accumulated so far! I'm glad they assigned me to you. * I'd visit that Shopkeeper from time to time. deathcount deaths is a bit worrying. * Perfect timing! It was my turn to buy a round. * timeshardstolencount Time Shards in, I'm feeling some acid reflux. Maybe swallowing them isn't a good idea... * deathcount deaths already, is that controller functioning properly? * Just so you can't say I'm always negative: Go Messenger! You can do it! * No, I don't want to take a selfie with you. * Why do I feel like you meant to do that? * If anyone asks, I'm taken. * Are you playing with your feet or something? Projectile * Did that projectile look like a health potion to you? * How you manage your budget is up to you, but I'd recommend dodging these in the future. * I'm not sure whether the enemy has good aim, or you just walked into that one. * Remember the 5 d's of dealing with projectiles: dodge, duck, dip, dive and destroy. * Might be a good idea to visit the Shopkeeper, though I don't think they carry awareness upgrades. * Oh come on that was an easy dodge! Are you playing with mittens on? * You know, you're not the first adventurer I've watched over. Others seemed to have an easier time with projectiles. * Clearly they never heard of "Don't shoot The Messenger" ... Spikes * What do spikes and Quarble have in common? We both have your back! Hahahaha! * Pro tip: avoid the spikes. * One fall in the spikes a day keeps your spine not okay. * Or you could have watched your step. * A little aichmophobia might come in handy. I mean it, look it up! * Hey I'll be visiting the Shopkeeper later, should I grab something to reduce spikes damage for you? * Saved by the bell! Thanks for touching those spikes man, you just got me out of a very boring dinner. Pitfall * "I really wasn't expecting you to fall in that pit." -That's what I would have said if I had any faith in you. * If someone's watching, you can pretend there was input lag. * Did someone tell you that was a secret passage? My brother used to do that... * If someone's watching, you can pretend you just wanted to show them how I always have random contextual insults when you die. * I'm starting to think you just want to find out when these death quotes will start looping. * Oh hi, I'm Quarble's co-worker, Quibble. Apparently I just had to see the face you make when you fall in a pit. Priceless indeed. * Who could have guessed you would just fall like that. Squish * Man that was painful to watch. * Sorry about the pain, but I can't pay myself back if death isn't confirmed. * I bet you wish these moving blocks were a bit more forgiving. * Ouch! This reminds of a story, but I can't tell it because I only have one sentence per death. * ...and then I said, "Look, you either put your socks on, or your sandals, but you can't do both". Oh sorry did you just get crushed? * Can't really play that one off with "You should see the other guy". * You pressed? Frequent * I could do this all day, which is good because it looks like I will. * I should probably be offering you a discount at this point, but it would only incentivize you to fail more. * Not that I'd ever give up on my best client, but I could use a break. * Looks like I'll be canceling that summer vacation. * The money's good, but I fear I might actually burn out. * At this point you could consider thanking me. * Can someone contact the director and explain to me how my actions don't justify a main role yet? * In case you were wondering, I did buy my pool. Now if I could have some time to actually use it, that would be great. * I think that's the highest tab I have ever seen. * Can I interest you in a payment plan? * Would you like to buy a 10 deaths package in advance? * We have a drinking game at the office, a shot every time I have to come and save you. Pretty festive ambiance at the moment... * Thanks for making me so productive, I got employee of the month! * I used to be the poorest of all greed demons. You really turned my life around! * Seriously, you're a gold mine! I'm not even declaring half of this revenue. * Are you really that bad, or are you testing my patience? * Ow! My magic ring is overheating! * Maybe I should rent my ring to you directly for a fixed price instead. * Since it looks like I'll be doing most of the work, do you want me to carry the scroll for you? * Are you sure about this mission? You don't look like you're in your element. * Could I talk you into sticking to a 9 to 5 schedule for your adventures? I'd like to spend some time with my family. * I don't know what to do with all my Time Shards anymore, so I made a donation in your name. Trivia * In one of Quarble's death comments, the comment says that he's actually Quarble's co-worker, Quibble. This could be a joke or an actual character who looks exactly like Quarble, but it is unknown. ** In the save file data, Quarble is actually referred to as "Quibble." * Quarble's death comments fail to take into account for singular quantities. So if Ninja dies for the first time on New Game +, or if Quarble only ever collects 1 Time Shard, then it's possible to see grammatically incorrect death comments. ** "I've saved your life 1 times already." ** "1 deaths prevented. Quarble MVP!" ** "I'd visit that Shopkeeper from time to time. 1 deaths is a bit worrying." ** "1 deaths already, is that controller functioning properly?" ** "Thanks to you I've accumulated 1 Time Shards so far." ** "A whopping 1 Time Shards accumulated so far! I'm glad they assigned me to you." ** "1 Time Shards in, I'm feeling some acid reflux. Maybe swallowing them isn't a good idea..." * Whether or not the player uses a keyboard, they'll still see the death comment related to using a controller. * Even if the game is paused, Quarble continues to fly in place and flap his wings. * In the beta version of the game, Quarble used to stick around during boss fights rather than immediately leaving. Game programmer, Sylvain Cloutier, confirmed that Quarble was removed because he was too distracting. * If Ninja's first death of the playthrough is during the Abomination chase sequence, Quarble will still do his normal introduction sequence, and the Abomination will wait patiently for the dialogue to end. Video. Achievements :''For the main article, see Achievements. Gallery In-Game Sprites QuarbleIcon_16.png|Quarble's 16-bit talk portrait icon. Quarble_8.png|Quarble's 8-bit spritesheet. Quarble_16.png|Quarble's 16-bit spritesheet. Official Sprites Canadian Crusader.png|"The Canadian Crusader" Halloween costume. Botanical Brawler.png|"The Botanical Brawler" Halloween costume. Couldn't find a pun Crossing Guard.png|"The Couldn't find a pun Crossing Guard" Halloween costume. Showering Shinobi.png|"The Showering Shinobi" Halloween costume. Happy Thanksgiving.jpg|Quarble in a turkey costume to celebrate Thanksgiving. HolidayShop.png|The Holiday Shop, depicting a festive Quarble with mistletoe wings and candy cane horns. KuningasEST_Bday.png|Quarble wearing a party hat and blowing a noisemaker for speedrunner, KuningasEST's birthday. Cropped Sprites Coat Quarble.png|Quarble in a snow coat. Bee Quarble.png|Quarble dressed as a bee. Cone Quarble.png|Quarble with a traffic cone on his head. Duck Quarble.png|Quarble in a rubber duck costume. Quobble.png|Quarble in a turkey costume. Festive Quarble.png|Quarble with mistletoe wings and candy cane horns. Birthday Quarble.png|Quarble with a birthday hat and a noisemaker. Official Art Steam Trading Card 7.png|Quarble's Steam trading card. Steam Trading Card Artwork 7.jpg|Quarble's Steam trading card artwork, which depicts 16-bit Quarble in Bamboo Creek. Steam Quarble Emoticon Large.png|Quarble's large Steam emoticon. Steam Quarble Emoticon.png|Quarble's Steam emoticon. Quarble Art.jpg|Quarble artwork from the official Nintendo page. Quillshroom's Horrors.jpg|Quarble pointing Ninja towards Quillshroom Marsh, used for the YouTube thumbnail of this video. PAX East 2018.png|Official T-shirt design for PAX East 2018, which depicts Quarble next to Ninja. Fangamer T-Shirt.png|Fangamer T-shirt design, which depicts Quarble in The Shop. Fangamer Quarble Sticker.png|Fangamer Quarble sticker. Fangamer Quarble Pin.png|Fangamer Quarble pin. Key Art 1.jpg|Key art #1, which depicts Quarble next to Ninja. Key Art 2.jpg|Key art #2, which depicts Quarble next to Ninja. Key Art 3.png|Key art #3, which depicts Quarble next to Ninja. pt-br:Sofismuto ru:Кварбл Category:Characters